Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Simu Liu may have been forced to delete a tweet years later after facing accusations that he was a racist because he said he didn’t care for her music, but there’s a lot of people out there who call themselves Cardi B fans. The polarizing rapper will be seen on the big screen when Fast & Furious 9 arrives this weekend, which is no doubt going to split opinion down the middle.
The 28-year-old made her feature film debut in a minor supporting role as part of Hustlers‘ ensemble, but boarding one of the biggest franchises in the business is an entirely different proposition. Given the sheer size of the roster that comes attached to each new Fast & Furious, it’s likely that Cardi B won’t have too much in the way of screentime, and all we know so far is that she’s playing a character named Leysa, who has some history with Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto.
However, it sounds as though Cardi B could be in it for the long haul, after director Justin Lin lavished praise on the musician for becoming an instant part of the family when she first showed up on set.
“I love Cardi, you know? I mean, it’s amazing she showed up and within a minute she’s part of the family, right? And I love how when I got together with her, her and Vin were talking about the character because she’s actually really embedded into the overall universe, she’s been around for a long time and this is just the first time we are seeing her, so I’m really excited to explore that character of her.”
Not only that, but Diesel went on to confirm that Cardi B’s Leysa will be back for at least one of the tenth and eleventh chapters in The Fast Saga, so it sounds as though the mysterious Leysa could be integral to Dom and the crew’s final pair of adventures.
“We are very much excited to evolve her character and to expand it to the finale. She made it just in time. She came in Fast 9 just in time.”
The Fast & Furious franchise is known for roping in singers, rappers, martial artists, and athletes from all over the world to play one-and-done parts in the series, but it sounds like Cardi B is sticking around until the bitter end.